Give Me the Low Tech Life
What was life like before computers? Well for one thing we had to look stuff up ourselves.
And in those days to change the channel or turn off the TV you actually had to get off the couch, annoying as that sounds.
But at least back then you could make calls when you were away from home – as long as one of these was on the corner.
And although it took a lot of effort to write a book before the tech revolution, some folks actually did it.
Certainly life was harder before computers, yet surprisingly we seemed to have managed. Maybe those Romantic poets were on to something?
”The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours.
We’ve given our hearts away, a sordid boon!”
William Wordsworth 1770 – 1850
– Dana Susan Lehrman
Dana Susan LehrmanThis retired librarian loves big city bustle and cozy country weekends, friends and family, good books and theatre, movies and jazz, travel, tennis, Yankee baseball, and writing about life as she sees it on her blog World Thru Brown Eyes!
www.WorldThruBrownEyes.com
Dana, I also love that Wordsworth poem. Great images – a blast from the past!
Thanx Laurie!
Brilliant, Dana! I love what you have done here. That said, I couldn’t also help thinking how simple the technology is now for putting all these words and images together, as well as making sure that Wordsworth’s poem was quoted exactly right. Ironic, no?
Thanx John, bless the tech but mainly the poets!
Very nice, Dana. I am in front of screens so much that my respite is reading physical books and going on walks just to look at nature. Those Romantic poets were onto something.
Think so!
Simple and to the point. Exactly, Dana.
Thanx Betsy!
I love the brilliant simplicity of this story, Dee…and I second John’s comment above re the irony of how it came to be.
Thanx Bebe!
Love that picture of the card catalog! I spent many hours poring over those in various libraries. Nice succinct post – almost a RetroFlash! Stay tuned for those.
Thanx Suzy!
RetroFlash sounds good, awaiting the challenge!
This was like a social networking post–more visual imagery than text–used to good advantage. I love the old Wordsworth lines; in fact, my Dad used to recite that verse by heart. Thanks for the concise commentary.
Thanx Dale.
And lately that Wordsworth quote really resonates!
Loved your multi-media essay, Dana. I hear that the books they wrote were thick and had pages stuck together that you could turn to read the next part. So that’s where “the world is too much with us,” comes from. Grateful for that.
His poem reminds me of the conclusion to Woody Allen’s MIDNIGHT IN PARIS where, in addition to the charm of meeting Dali, Hemingway, Stein, and Picasso, we are treated to successive ages where virtually everyone longed for “the good old days.”
Thanx Charles.
Now I think the good old days means ANY days before our Trump-Covid double-whammy!